(Fort Myers, FL February 6, 2013) — The trustees of annual Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest have announced a stellar lineup of chefs and vintners for the 2013 event. On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22 and 23, some of Southwest Florida’s finest chefs will join a chef from Venice, Italy, and a variety of wineries and wine distributors in the Wine & Food Fest. This annual event features Chef Vintner dinners at private homes located throughout Lee and Collier Counties on Friday evening, and a Grand Tasting and Auction on Saturday afternoon at Miromar Lakes Beach Club. The Wine & Food Fest benefits local children’s charities.
“We endorse the ideas espoused by Wine merchant and writer Andre Simon,” said Steve Machiz, M.D., Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest founding chairman, “Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized. For this reason, we seek out the best chefs and vintners, with each participant bringing a unique culinary style and perspective to our tables.”
The chef’s preparing Chef Vintner dinners on Friday night include: Chef Andy Hunter, The Bay House; Chef Mauro Domenico Lucivero, Ristorante Lineadombra of Venice, Italy; Chef George Fistrovich, The Ritz-Carlton, Naples; Chef Gloria Cabral-Jordan, La Trattoria Caf├® Napoli, Chef Harold Balink, Cru; Chef Jeremy Houston, Capital Grille, Chef Brian Roland, personal concierge Chef, Crave Culinaire; Chef Jason Grasty, Roy’s; Chef Greg Scarlatos, Angelina’s Ristorante, and Jon Phillips, CaterMasters, Naples.
Saturday’s Grand Tasting chefs which include: Chef Jason Grasty, Roy’s, Chef Greg Scarlatos, Angelina’s Ristorante; Chef Andreas Singer, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point; Chef Roger Chastain, Sunshine Grille, Chef Marbin Avilez, Firestone’s; Chef William Murray, The Veranda; Chef Neil Griffin, Il Cielo; Chef Robert Brown, Miromar Lakes; Chef Nathaniel Reid, Norman Love Confections; Chef Billy Mak, Blu Sushi; Andre Gratesol, Lush French Bakery; Chef Christian Vivet, Blue Windows French Bistro.
The 2013 Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest will once again play host to a number of featured wineries, including many who have returned for an encore appearance.
“We continue to seek out the best wines available from a handful of distinctive and distinguished wineries,” said Marshall Hanno, Wine Committee chairman, “Since we invite boutique wineries with extremely limited production, we’re privileged to offer wines that are highly rated by wine connoisseurs and yet rarely available to the general public.” The Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest is pleased to feature these very fine wineries:
Husic Vineyards
Our signature vintner this year, Husic Vineyards reside on a hillside overlooking the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. There the Husic Family has crafted three unique Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards. Moving tons of rock, they sculpted narrow terraces that cling to the mountain’s edge. Here they planted small, extremely steep vineyards that peacefully coexist with the region’s wildlife. These rugged, rocky growing conditions, combined with careful farming methods, have yielded a limited amount of magnificent fruit. Now on their eighth release, Husic Vineyards is offering 2008 Husic Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Husic Vineyards Chardonnay and 2008 Palm Terrace Cabernet.
2013 Participating wineries:
Ornellaia
Benovia Winery
Myriad Cellars & Quivet
V Madrone
Round Pond Estate
Domaine Drouhin
Delamotte
Von Strasser Winery
Marqu├®s de C├íceres
Silver Oak
Hartwell Estate Vineyard
Ponzi
Fonseca Port
Distributors:
Augustan Wine Imports
Premier Beverage
Republic National Distributing Company
Northern Trust Bank is the title sponsor of the 2013 Wine & Food Fest. Along with Miromar Lakes Beach Club, Norman Love Confections, Angelina’s Ristorante, and Palm Printing/Printers Ink, other supporters of the event include Grandeur, and Gulfshore Life and Gulfshore Business Magazine.
The Wine & Food Fest Grand Tasting and Auction will be held in the Beach Clubhouse at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club and its outdoor waterfront venue. Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club is a residential waterfront resort community with over 700 acres of contiguous aquamarine freshwater lakes, three miles of private, white sandy beach and Signature championship golf. Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club is located in Miromar Lakes, just north of Naples.
The Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest is a signature event of the SWFL Children’s Charities, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides funding to local charities serving local children. The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida is this year’s beneficiary and secondary beneficiaries are Edison State College’s pediatric nursing program, and Florida Gulf Coast University’s music therapy program.
Tickets start at $1,000+ for the Chef Vintner Dinners, which includes tickets to the Saturday Grand Tasting and Auction; tickets for Saturday only are $500 per person and are very limited.
For more information about Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest: swflwinefest.org or information on sponsorship or ticket sales, call 239-278-3900.
